Adult Education Classes

The UCCE Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County offer gardening courses in Campbell, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale. These courses focus on sustainable gardening practices and consist of six two-hour classes, offered over a six-week period. See below for class details and upcoming offerings and locations.

Gardening in Our Time and Place: Santa Clara County Gardening Basics

Santa Clara County is one the best places in the world to create a year-round garden, whether you want to grow vegetables or a beautiful sustainable garden full of trees, shrubs, perennials and flowers. Come learn the basics about our climate and soil and the best practices for creating your ideal garden. If you are a beginning gardener, you will learn how to get started successfully. If you have some experience, you’ll learn about sustainable practices and appropriate plants to introduce into your garden. The goal of this class is to enable you to have a successful and sustainable garden in our time and place.

The Easy Way to Create a Beautiful, Earth-Friendly Landscape

Learn simple techniques of sustainable gardening to create and maintain a beautiful ornamental garden that will be attractive year-round while respecting and protecting the environment. Topics include caring for the soil, using efficient irrigation and choosing the right plant for the right place. The course also covers basic design concepts, non-toxic pest management and season-appropriate chores to keep your garden looking its very best.

Sustainable Vegetable Gardening

Gardening year round is easy and rewarding in our mild Mediterranean climate. Learn how to have a successful, environmentally responsible food garden that provides delicious vegetables and herbs every month of the year. This course stresses sustainable gardening practices such as mulching, efficient watering methods, on-site composting,integrated pest management, and use of organic fertilizers and soil amendments.

Topics include:soil preparation, amendments, and fertilizers; irrigation methods and systems; working with both seeds and seedlings; cultural requirements of specific warm and cool season crops and varieties that do well in our area; and how to identify and manage common pests, weeds, and diseases of vegetable crops in Santa Clara County.

Growing Fruits and Berries Sustainably

Our mild Mediterranean climate allows us to grow a dazzling variety of temperate and subtropical fruits and berries. Learn how to harvest delicious fruit from your garden every month of the year. This course stresses how sustainable gardening practices such as efficient watering methods, integrated pest management and use of organic fertilizers and soil amendments apply to growing fruits and berries. Pome fruits (apples and pears), stone fruits (apricots, peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots and cherries), citrus and other subtropicals are covered, as well as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and other berries.

Topics include: soil preparation, planting (including space-saving techniques) and establishment of plants in the first year; irrigation methods and systems; cultural requirements of specific fruits and berries; recommended varieties of deciduous fruits, citrus, avocados and other subtropicals; and pruning, including summer pruning for controlling tree size.

Upcoming Classes

Visit the following web pages to see what courses are being offered and to register. Registration opens in August for Fall 2008 classes and in December for Winter 2009 classes.

Campbell Community Center

Palo Alto Adult School

Sunnyvale-Cupertino Adult and Community Education

In Fall 2008, "Gardening in Our Time and Place: Santa Clara County Gardening Basics" is offered in Campbell and Palo Alto; "The Easy Way to Create a Beautiful, Earth-Friendly Landscape" is offered in Sunnyvale.

In Winter 2009, "Sustainable Vegetable Gardening" is offered in Campbell and Palo Alto. The class to be offered in Sunnyvale is TBD but details will be posted as soon as available.